Goldfish in the Bullpen

Jax pulled his **baseball** cap low, trying to disappear into the dugout bench. First day at East Valley High and he'd already managed to trip over his own feet in front of half the sophomore class. His older brother Marcus had been the star pitcher here. Jax was just the guy who couldn't even make the JV team.

"You good, new kid?"

Jax looked up. Riley—actual Riley Chen, whose Instagram Jax had been lowkey stalking since he learned he was moving here—stood there holding a little plastic bag.

"Yeah. Just... my brother used to sit here."

Riley nodded like this made perfect sense. "My mom says everyone's basically a **goldfish** anyway—three-second memory and we're all swimming in the same tiny bowl wondering why we keep hitting the glass."

Jax snorted before he could stop himself. Riley's crooked smile made something in his chest do that embarrassing flutter thing.

"Anyway," Riley said, "I found this **cat** behind the gymnasium. Looks like it belongs to someone. Can't catch it alone, and you seem... non-threatening?"

"Gee, thanks."

"It's a compliment! You have gentle energy." Riley held out the bag. "I brought **vitamin** treats. Cats love supplements, right?"

Jax laughed. He actually laughed. So this is what normal people did—they rescued cats together and made terrible jokes and didn't constantly worry about saying the wrong thing.

The cat turned out to be kitten-soft and hungry, winding through Jax's legs like it had known him forever. His phone buzzed—his mom reminding him about his anxiety meds, which she still called his "daily **vitamin**" like he was seven instead of fifteen.

He didn't care.

Riley's **hat** fell off when they finally cornered the cat near the baseball field. Jax picked it up, their fingers brushing, and suddenly he wasn't hiding anymore. Wasn't the new kid, wasn't Marcus's little brother, wasn't the guy who couldn't pitch.

Just Jax, standing in the golden afternoon light, cat treats in one pocket, new possibilities everywhere.

"Same time tomorrow?" Riley asked, and Jax realized he wasn't asking about the cat.